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Employee Orientation -- A Good Start for Long Employment

Guest post by: Michael Shuster

Article Overview: We’ve all considered the cost to find, hire, and train a new employee? Some calculate the cost of losing a trained employee (especially one of your better performers). Consider the costs of NOT properly training a new employee: - Employee errors risk the safety of your customers, - Lower quality service to your customers, leading to a decrease in repeat business, - Not knowing proper procedures, decreased efficiency and productivity, - Lack of sales and/or customer service training, effectively decreasing the dollar value per customer.

Employee Orientation -- A Good Start for Long Employment

Managers are realizing that hiring is not a dreaded task to be taken lightly. It is an enormous investment in that new employee … and your bottom line. But hiring doesn’t end after the offer of employment. Those fully prepare a new employee, realize that benefits far outweigh costs. Once you’ve invested time and money in hiring the right person, do everything possible to ensure they get off to a good start!

New employees are motivated to start their new job. They are also hesitant to ask questions, in fear of appearing stupid or under-qualified. Their decisions and actions are based on their own perception of what is expected, experiences with a previous employer, or what they overhear other employees say and do.

Many businesses develop a comprehensive (sometimes too comprehensive) checklist of policies and procedures, to review with new employees on their first day. Topics usually include compensation, work schedules, sick days, vacation time, benefits, etc. The checklist(s) usually only skim over safety, loss prevention, and liability issues. They rarely cover sales and customer service technique, unique company policies & procedures when dealing with customers, and managing customer expectations.

A good orientation program lays the foundation for a long lasting relationship. It ensures the employee maintains a positive attitude toward your company, and their role. Even when recruiting an experienced employee, the recruit still needs to learn your policies, procedures, safety practices, and expectations.

New employees are anxious to feel at home, meet other workers, and prove themselves. They are receptive and flexible. They are also apprehensive, anxious, and afraid of the unknown. This is the worst time to “throw them to the wolves”. We’ve all been there. Managers are too busy to invest time working with them, and let other issues distract them when they should be training. Everyone is in fast-pace mode, and forgets that we are on ‘auto-pilot’ regarding our daily routine. Never forget those times when you started a new job. That is when you formed your first impressions about your new employer. That is when you felt inferior. You didn’t know what to focus on. When you weren’t trained in a format and pace that you were comfortable with, you quickly grew frustrated, de-motivated, and often bitter that your new employer neglected you. If you don’t invest the time and planning into your orientation program … you might as well take your money and throw it away. That perfect employee will always elude you!

Tips & Ideas

Here are some ideas to consider, when devising your orientation program:
1. The MIND thinks in IMAGES … not WORDS!
Having a new employee read a manual and thinking they’ll understand, retain, and execute your policies and procedures is naïve.
The employee must see what they are expected to learn - in action. Don’t pawn them off on a full-timer to shadow for a few days. Spend time with them while they observe your top performers, and you highlight the do’s and don’ts. Your full-timer won’t do this as effectively as you!

2. Repetition is Key … Repetition is Key … Repetition is Key.
Did you learn how to drive a car by reading a manual or sitting in a classroom? The more you practiced … the better you got. This doesn’t mean having new employees start dealing with customers, and forgiving their early mistakes because they are ‘new’. They would then simply be practicing the ‘wrong’ way. Everybody hates role-playing, but any successful coach agrees that it is most effective in developing good habits. Have your new employee start practicing with you, where customers can’t see them. Reassure them there are no mistakes in the beginning (to ease their tension). While they continue to practice various techniques, observe and offer suggestions, guidance, feedback, and even show them (yourself) what you expect.

Written by: Michael Shuster, President: HIDDEN CONCEPTS INC.

His expertise encompasses strategic employee attraction and hiring processes, sales & customer service training, ongoing employee performance management, and curriculum design. His goal setting, coaching programs, and tracking formulas, have been used by managers within over 250 organizations across North America, to successfully inspire and achieve excellence at hiring and managing top performers!

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